Though The Floods of Life Come Our Way, We Will Survive

Breaking News:
New Orleans, Louisiana: Flood Evacuation Reinstated for Louisiana's Butte Larose Area!
Salmon, Idaho:Idaho governor declares emergency from flooding 
Missoula, Montana:Western Montana rain keeps falling into already high rivers‎

Flooding has affected more than just one area in the U.S this spring and it may not be over yet. Due to the heavy snow pack melting and heavy rains falling many areas are finding themselves literally under water. As rivers rise and streets and basements flood we see how devastating these floods are to streets, homes, businesses, and even crops, as much of the damage will take months to dry out and fix.

    Just as these waterways and rivers are taking a beating from all these storms we too will face storms in our life. The Savior taught a parable about floods when he said:

     "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matt. 7:24-27

     The Savior is teaching some valuable flood advice, or life flood insurance, in these verses of scripture but what does it mean to build upon a rock in our lives? The Prophet Helaman in the Book of Mormon understood this lesson about building upon a rock when he taught his sons. He said:

     And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

   The rock in our lives that we must build on is our Savior, Jesus Christ. When the devil sends those storms of life, when we find ourselves flooded, and wet, we will not wash away because of the foundational rock of Christ that we are built on. The Lord promises We Will Not Fall!

   In many flood zones people desire to get safely to higher ground. By following Christ and His teachings, and being a hearer and a doer of the word, we are not only built on that solid rock foundation but we are lifted to a higher plane of living. We no longer will find ourselves playing in the muddy flood water of the world but clean and dry from sin. As we do that we will be able to reach out a helping hand to those wading in the muddy flood water of life to lift them up to higher ground, encourage them to clean themselves, repent, and to start to build their lives on higher ground and the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
            To read another Gospel view of Floods Click Here
Songs about Christ and Floods:
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man

O thou Rock of our salvation
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God and His Prophet: The Greatest Forecaster Around



God and His Prophet: The Greatest Forecaster Around-Do you find yourself day in and day out watching the weather report to see what weather you can expect and prepare for? Do you constantly find yourself living in the opposite weather than what was forecast and what you had prepared for? Take this week for instance, here in Montana the forecast called for rain showers every day of the week. On Saturday afternoon as my companion and I were walking around doing our missionary work it was 77 degrees, sunny and clear with not a cloud in the sky. It had been beautiful and sunny all week long!  We hadn't seen a drop of rain all week! Not quite what the weather forecast had called for now was it?  



   Along with false weather forecasts we also found ourselves talking to many people this last week about the prediction made by a group claiming that the world would end on May 21st. There had been billboards, signs, and a website dedicated to telling people about this prediction of the end of the world. While the world didn't end, hence why I'm able to write this blog on May 24th, we see that some took this prediction seriously and others not so much. This prediction, like the weather, caught people's attention, including the national news, but didn't come to pass. Now the purpose in me writing this isn't to come down or poke fun of the weather man or even those who predicted the end of the world but to show that the predictions and forecasts of men, and men alone, are never as accurate as the forecasts of God.

   All throughout the scriptures God makes his forecast known to us by means of the Prophet. God has said "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."D&C 1:38 We see that as God gives a forecast that that forecast ALWAYS comes to pass.
    The forecast of the Prophet on his own would have no credibility, but when it comes straight from God the truth is brought into the forecast. God told the Prophet Noah to warn the people that the earth would be flooded unless they changed their ways and repented. The people did not listen to Noah's forecast from God. In turn the rains came and the earth was flooded.

    How many of us pay attention to the weather forecast and predictions of man more than those from God through His Prophet? We need to pay attention and heed their counsel like we would the weather man's. As we prepare ourselves with a spiritual umbrella we will be better prepared to face the rain storms of life that have been and will be forecast by God.

To learn more about modern day Prophets and Apostles and their forecasts from God Click Here.